Thematic sites - Municipality of Milan

Poster

THELA CONTA ODV ASSOCIATION, THE ANPI MARTYRS SECTION OF VIALE TIBALDI IN MILAN, THE ANPI “FIORE – GARANZINI” SECTION STADERA – GRATOSOGLIO, THE ANPI VIGENTINA SECTION AND THE ASSOCIATION” THE ROOTS OF PEACE – I 15” , WITH THE PATRONAGE AND CONTRIBUTION OF TOWN HALL 5, THEY INVITE YOU to participate in the meeting "PARTI PER BERGAMO" dedicated to the massacre of the Martyrs of Piazzale Loreto: Antonio G. Bravin, Giulio Casiraghi, Renzo Del Riccio, Andrea Esposito, Domenico Fiorani, Umberto Fogagnolo, Tullio Galimberti, Vittorio Gasparini, Emidio Mastrodomenico, Angelo Poletti, Salvatore Principato, Andrea Ragni, Eraldo Soncini, Libero Temolo and Vitale Vertemati, barbarously murdered by a fascist gang on 10 August 1944.

The following will participate in the meeting: Il President of the Municipality 5, Claudio Molteni of the Provincial ANPI of Milan, Sergio Fogagnolo, son of Umberto, historian and scholar and some singers and musicians of the ANPI Martiri Section of Viale Tibaldi and beyond. During the meeting the docu-film "LEFT FOR BERGAMO” reconstruction and direct testimonies of the massacre of fifteen partisans which took place in Piazzale Loreto in Milan.

The meeting will take place, with free admission, from 20,30 pm on FRIDAY 19 APRIL 2024 IN THE COUNCIL ROOM OF TOWN HALL 5 IN VIALE TIBALDI 41 IN MILAN

SHORT HISTORY OF THE MASSACRE OF THE MARTYRS IN PIAZZALE LORETO IN MILAN

Every year Milan remembers the massacre which took place on 10 August 1944 in via Piazzale Loreto where in the early hours of dawn fifteen partisans were taken from the San Vittore prison and taken to piazzale Loreto and were shot by a firing squad made up of fascist soldiers of the Legion Ettore Muti, under the orders of Theodor Saevecke, captain of the SS.

The shooting in Piazzale Loreto, as in the case of Greco, Robecco and the Forlanini camp, was part of a precise plan: the escalation of the insurrectional climate had to correspond to the escalation of terror.

They were fifteen people chosen at random, united by the desire to free their homeland from the fascist and Nazi yoke, and for this reason in prison. They will share the same horrible and unjust fate.

Having been taken down to the prison courtyard, they were given overalls, making them believe that they were destined for work in Germany. In fact, in the register of San Vittore it was noted next to their names: "transferred to Bergamo". Crammed into a lorry, they were taken to Piazzale Loreto, and killed there.

At the time of the execution the square was deserted, given the time. The German officer gave the order to the soldiers to make a cordon around the pile of corpses, above which he posted a sign indicating that they had been killed in reprisal. The bodies were displayed at the execution site until the afternoon. The fascist soldiers laughed hysterically in front of that pile of still warm corpses.

In the meantime, workers on their way to work began to pass through Piazzale Loreto, everyone stopped to observe the pile of corpses thrown on the ground in all positions, covered in terrible wounds and blood. An impressive sight: there were scenes of tension and fright, some women fainted and everyone's indignation and horror were evident. Any gesture of homage by the population and relatives was prevented. The first witnesses were commuters from the Monza and Vimercate areas. Within an hour, the story of the carnage and the grim faces of the fascist soldiers of the Ettore Muti Legion on guard spread throughout the factories and the city. Anyone who had a relative, a friend or a companion arrested, or in hiding, rushed with their hearts in their mouths praying not to find them in the pile. Many arrived out of human pity, others to honor the fallen. That sad procession, between disbelief and tears, between dismay and hatred, was an act of courage and condemnation of popular and anti-fascist Milan. (source ANPI)